Sat, 17 October 2026
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Sat, 17 October 2026
By Our Correspondent, Bardiya (Gulariya), Oct. 17: Farmers in Bardiya have suffered heavy losses after ripe paddy crops, flattened by strong winds and rain in October, began germinating in the fields.
Farmers in Thapatol of Gulariya Municipality-5 were unable to harvest their crops on time because water had accumulated in their fields, destroying their year’s food supply.
Jiban Oli of Thapatol said the entire paddy crop he had planted on 10 katthas of land had germinated. He said strong winds and rain had flattened the ripe paddy, while waterlogging prevented him from harvesting it in time, causing the grains to sprout.
“The fallen paddy could not be harvested because there was too much water in the fields. Now the entire crop has germinated,” he said. According to him, the paddy grown by five households in Thapatol has become unusable.
Local Prakash Oli said the germinated paddy was not even suitable for feeding livestock. With the crop that was supposed to feed his family throughout the year destroyed, he said the family would face difficulties managing its food supply.
“We worked hard throughout the year to grow this paddy, but it has been damaged,” he said. “The earlier rainfall had not caused much damage, but the torrential rain accompanied by strong winds on October 7 flattened the ripe paddy and destroyed the crop.”
Farmers suffered losses before they could bring in their harvest because rain fell during the harvesting period and water accumulated in the fields. They have started cutting the fallen, germinated paddy and spreading it along roads and pathways to dry. However, they are worried that the deterioration in grain quality will make it difficult to sell.
Firtuman Chaudhary, information officer at the Integrated Agriculture and Livestock Development Office in Bardiya, said ripe paddy crops had been flattened and damaged by strong winds and rain.
According to him, around 30 per cent of the district’s paddy crop has been affected.
The office has requested damage data from local governments to assess the extent of the losses across the district. It said a clearer picture of the damage would emerge after the details are received from the local authorities.
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